NiMo, you are very correct in saying "bring back ground effects in the sidepods".
Mario Andretti who has raced just about everything with wheels and who raced the Lotus 79 ground effect car to the 1978 world championship commented a few years back that much of the passing problem that exists in current F1 is because the flat-bottom cars rely too much on the front and rear wings and also the diffusers. When the following car tries to overtake the front end washes out due to the turbulence of the rear wing of the car ahead and so the pass becomes much more difficult/impossible, therefore they too often use pitstops as a way to get ahead.
If you return to sidepods with full venturi ground effect tunnels then the car dose'nt rely so much on the front and rear wings. In fact they are used more as a trim tab for the surface air then as the main source of downforce which is now generated by the venturi tunnels instead. This will allow the cars to run much closer together and the front end of the following car won't wash out as it does now and we would see more passing on the racetrack and not in the pits!
Unfortunately the FIA is made up mostly of self-serving egomaniacs who won't listen to an actual racer of Andretti's caliber. And I seriously don't believe that Jean Todt as the new FIA president will see the light either.
Some fans think the answer is to severely cut back on the aero or eliminate it altogether and focus on just the mechanical grip. While that may work, the problem is that it is very unrealistic! You see, F1 is THE most technically advanced form of motorsport on the planet and you can't go backwords in technology which removing the aero would do. It's here to stay. Aerodynamics is not the problem, improper use of it is!